Wow—the Globe story (online) actually admits that the Herald
broke the story. As I understand it, Fat Matt hit some cars on the _other_ side of the road, drove for awhile on three wheel, and it took cops four minutes to get him out of
his car. Will have to check out the Haverhill edition of
the Eagle-Tribune (the Haverhill Gazette is long gone
right?) for more details
OK let’s see
Ex-Turnpike chief arrested for drunken driving in Haverhill
By Mark E. Vogler
HAVERHILL — Matthew Amorello, former head of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, was allegedly drunk and behind the wheel when he struck two cars belonging to residents at 342-344 River St. early Saturday morning.
Leonor Santos, 37, of 344 River St. and Ricardo Martinez, 33, of 342 River St., said they are mad at Amorello for heavily damaging their cars, but thankful he didn’t hit the telephone pole that sits in front of the apartment house.
“I’m just glad nobody got hurt,” Santos said yesterday, as she inspected damage done to the front of her Magnum Dodge. “We’re angry about him being drunk and driving. But thank God he’s OK. I’d rather he hit my car than the pole.”
Amorello, 52, of Wenham, was charged with operating under the influence of liquor and two counts of leaving the scene of property damage. The book-in sheet listed him as unemployed.
Haverhill police did not release any details of the incident yesterday other than the arrest sheet, which showed Amorello being arrested shortly before 3 a.m. Witnesses say Amorello left the scene of the crash and tried to hide in his car in a nearby car dealership.
Miguel Colon, 27, who lives on the third floor of 342 River St., said Amorello also lost one of the wheels on his own car in the accident.
“We went for a walk and found him up the street in the Mercedes car lot,” said Colon, who helped to locate Amorello for police. “He was awake but pretty intoxicated. We just wanted to make sure he was OK.”
Efforts to reach Amorello for comment were unsuccessful. He is scheduled to be arraigned today in Haverhill District Court.
Martinez said he was surprised after being told by a reporter that Amorello was released from jail Saturday morning after posting $40 bail.
“He should bail me out with all the damage he caused to my car. It’s totalled,” Martinez said of his 2002 Saab 9-5. “My car got pushed back about 10 to 15 feet up on the sidewalk. The axle is broken, my lights. Everything is damaged. He hit my car head-on and left one of his tires on my car and drove off.”
Colon was luckier than his neighbors.
“My car was right behind everything, but didn’t get hit,” he said.
Amorello served as chairman of the Turnpike Authority and oversaw the Big Dig project in Boston from 2002 to 2006. He resigned July 27, 2006 at the urging of then-Gov. Mitt Romney after a ceiling tile inside the Ted Williams Tunnel let go, striking a vehicle and killing a 38-year-old Jamaica Plain woman.
What’s a Mercedes dealer doing in a “mostly vacant industrial side of town”?
Isn't this the vehicle that caused all of the rollovers when the tire blew out?
I actually saw a Ford Explorer almost rollover when the front left tire just left the vehicle, and went down the middle meridian. The driver was extremely skillful, and managed to get the vehicle stopped off the road on the right side. He had his whole family inside. Quite scary.
3 till 7 est
Glad we can still hear him on the Internet down here in Florida, one of the things we miss about Mass is hearing Howie's show
If I were a Pub trying to administer a project in a Rat state, it might drive me to drink too.
“He was really out of it, and he didn’t know where he was,” said one Haverhill police officer yesterday, a day after Amorello’s older brother Peter posted the former state senator’s $40 bail.
The jokes just write themselves.
< Mumbles voice > Wow. < / Mumbles voice >